By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Following the need to beef up confidence in the capital market, stockbrokers under the aegis of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, said it plans to pull all capital market participants together in an effort to chart a way forward for the market.

The programme, which is the first of its kind, is meant to bring the policy makers, apex regulator – Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, issuers, investors, as well as all trade groups in the market together to review the progress made so far in wooing domestic investors back to the market.

Briefing the press ahead of its inaugural capital market night billed to hold on 23rd May, 2013, in Lagos, the ASHON president, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, said the event will also provide a unique opportunity to juxtapose the NSE with other emerging markets it is benchmarked against with a view to making necessary adjustments where possible.

“All of us are aware that between 2008 and now, the market has taken a downturn and in the last two to three years, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we try and bring back investors’ confidence and that is part of what we are continuing to do by using this platform to refocus and to ensure that our investors, most especially the retail investors, come back to the market.

If you look at the number in the market in recent time, you will find out that the percentage that foreign investors use to have in the market is continuously dropping. This is the result of all the efforts that is put in place to ensure that investors’ confidence is restored and that processes and rules are put in place to ensue that this is carried out on a continuous basis,” he said.

“There is an arrangement for us to meet on a regular basis; this we need to do so that we can interface between us and all the other stakeholders in the market to ensure that the role we are playing is done on a continuing basis.

It is also an opportunity for us to share experiences with other practitioners in the market so that we might hopefully come up with other ideas to ensure that the market continues on its recovery,” Madubuike added.

Continuing, he said, “What we intend to do is to look at what has happened in other markets because the same issue that we went through, other market also went through. We tent to also look at what other market did in order to get back to where they are and then see what we can learn from so doing.”

The ASHON boss further stated that the association will use the forum to launch a development Fund as part of its repositioning agenda, adding that henceforth, the forum will serve as an avenue to hand over to new executives of the association.

The theme of the programme is “Investment Opportunities in a Frontier Market: The African Perspective.” It is expected to be an annual events going forward.